Nobody is going to believe in Africa if we do
not believe in her as Africans. These days we
try to placate our consciences by making
some of our clothes with the wax fabric
(Ankara) which is not even an African fabric
in the first place, or ladies have now “started”
natural hair “movement”. What we need to
do to rebrand Africa is not an image that we
project through dress code; it is a mindset
that is determined to see diamond in the
trash. The fact that we have lived under the
shadows of western dominance and bad
governance does not mean that Africa has
been stripped of all her glory. Africa has rich
history that has been overshadowed and
ignored.
If we refuse to see the beauty that is hidden
in plain sight, others will continue to pile dirt
on what we have. It is to our advantage that
we build on our strengths because as we do
that, our weaknesses begin to diminish. If we
think that the world will suddenly respect us
because we bear indigenous names and
wear our natural hair, we are joking. We have
to project our values through our history,
literature and media to push back decades
of negative propaganda and stories. We have
to project whatever beauty we have around
us, no matter how small. Nobody wants to be
associated with or fight for something they
do not believe. Until we get people
interested in this continent in spite of the
humongous challenges, we won’t be able to
sell it to others and move forward. Every
client talks down on the good or service they
want so they can bit down the price. It is up
to us to put a price on this continent and
haggle right for others to buy into it and do
08
the needful.
I
Believe
in
Africa.